2019 MLB Draft Results — First Round

The 2019 MLB Draft is underway, and we’ll track the first-round picks as they come in. Rather than breaking things up as we have in the past, we’ll just track everything before the 2nd round in this post. This year, there are 32 true first-round picks, followed by a pair of compensation picks and seven competitive balance selections.

Where did u see that!?!
He’s obviously supposed to be good, but Bart last year was just as highly rated if I remember correctly
Don’t get caught in the hyperbole cycle that everyone in sports does now
The latest is not always actually the greatest

In a weak draft class like this, the top few prospects start to become way overhyped come draft day. The way they’re hyping Witt J.R. as the next Arod and Rutschman as the next Harper, when it reality there was nowhere near the amount of hype Machado/Harper/Arod/Buxton/Greene etc. Those players were much more anticipated. Can they be the next Arod/Harper? Sure but there was much more anticipation for Harper/Machado, even Taillon and Swanson had comparisons like this.

How does Bart have “much more” offensive potential? I’d argue the exact opposite. If you look at their college careers, Adley’s last 2 years were better than anything Bart ever did in college. Better at hitting for average, better at getting on base, and better at hitting for power (Bart is at least close here). He also doesn’t have the strikeout concerns Bart has.

They’re both excellent prospects, but Adley is no doubt the better prospect coming out of college.

Yes! I was afraid Hahn was going to try and get cute and stupid with the pick. I would’ve loved to see AR fall to us, but we got once again possibly the best bat in the draft in Vaughn. Nice work, Hahn & Co.

Why do you like Riley Greene? The Tigers have had their eyes on him all through his teens. Although I’m fond of defensive players, I like 5th rounder OF Bryant Packard. He can really hit. I just hope the Tigers can find his ideal position on the field.

Potential Gold Glove at 2B in addition to his high hit and run tools. His baseball IQ and instincts for the game are also exceptional. Madrigal will slot in very nicely as a prototypical #2 bat between future leadoff hitter Luis Robert and either Yoan Moncada or Andrew Vaughn in the 3-hole with Eloy Jimenez batting 4th or 5th.

It’s interesting to note that both Madrigal and Vaughn were considered the best pure hitters in each of the last two drafts. Each are considered exceptional contact hitters who rarely SO and walk more than they whiff, attributes that buck the trend in today’s era of big swings and lots of misses. Each also employ a leg kick as a timing mechanism before each pitch. If they continue this success at the MLB level they might launch a new trend in the game, something this 64-year old fan would love to see once again after witnessing last season’s notorious historic feat that produced more strike outs than hits. The White Sox were most responsible in setting an MLB record for most whiffs in a season. That should change come 2020/2021 with the debuts of Madrigal and Vaughn.

LOL Silly comment. Yes, Madrigal’s reached his peak already, there’s no chance of him improving from here on, because players generally level out at 22. They’re usually washed up by the time they reach 25.

There’s never a shortage of idiotic comments on these message boards, and I think you just made the Idiotic Comment of the Day. Congrats. LOL

It’s not their training staff. Pitching injuries are rampant all over baseball. From MLB, all the way to the youth levels. The days of the durable starter are all but over. With the game getting deeper and deeper into analytics, and arm injuries continuing to rise, it’s a big possibility that pitching staffs will be more of a lottery in the coming years.

Did you notice that there’s almost no pitchers on this list? Every organization needs pitching. But young pitching is also experiencing a major epidemic of arm injuries. Not much pitching in this draft. And organizations don’t draft based on need any way. They pick the best possible player that they like.

I just heard about the lack of the third pitch but he is working on the change up. I am not worried about the size. Worked for guys like David Wells is this guy seems more built. He can also do something with the slider differently against righties or lefties that makes it effective against both. The best thing is they probably save money on the first pick allowing them to afford a better player in the next rounds.

Not really sure how calling it a reach is “bashing him.” He very well could turn into a good player, but that doesn’t make the pick a good value.

And I’d recommend building a bullpen by developing prospects in the minors (later drafted relief prospects and failed starters) and/or paying them in free agency – especially since the Cubs print money and all. I don’t think trading elite talent for rentals is a sustainable way to build a bullpen, and I don’t think using your only first round pick to draft a reliever is a good use of resources. But hey, you know what they say about opinions…

Fangraphs had Jensen going 42 to Baltimore. I don’t think it was quite the reach you’re thinking here. He wasn’t going to be around by the time they were up again and if they liked him well then hey make your pick. Should be a lock to go underslot here as well. Theo/Hoyer like their college guys a whole lot as well.

Anyway. I can’t have much of an opinion on these guys at this point. After your top guys go it’s a complete crapshoot. Jensen was pegged at 42 by fangraphs and that was the highest I saw him. But it’s too tough to know at this point. If you’re inclined to believe FG was right in how other teams valued him he wouldn’t have been around for the cubs next pick and would’ve been off the board within the next 15.